Holiday Fever
by Tulip.scales.512
Summary: Description: With the holiday season coming up, Maka stresses too much over preparations and Soul tries to get her back into the holiday spirit while still trying to juggle the responsibilities that have been placed on his shoulders.
1. Chapter 1 - No Christmas Music

"Soul, I said no." Maka Albarn tried to talk over the cacophony of electric guitars, violins, piano, and chorus of singers.

Soul showed no sign of him hearing her, so Maka decided to go to a last resort. She walked over to the stereo that was blaring the music and hit the stop button.

"Hey, Maka! What the hell? I was listening to that." Maka ignored his protests as she took the CD out of the stereo, along with all the other CDs splayed across the table.

"I already told you, no Christmas music yet," she told him sternly as she made her way over to her bedroom, where she planned to keep the CDs hostage until it was actually time for Christmas music.

"Why not? It's November already. We can listen to Christmas music now." Maka didn't acknowledge a word he said as she strolled into her bedroom, her expression smug. "Maaaa-kaaaaa," he whined as he followed her through the door.

Maka set all of the CDs down on the desk before she felt a hand grasp her wrist and Soul tugged her arm in a way to spin her around. Soul gently pushed her down onto the bed, placing his hands on either side of her, and looked down, his deep red eyes meeting hers, his expression showing clear discontent with Maka's act of taking away his jolly Christmas tunes.

"Why can't I listen to it?" Soul asked.

Maka looked up at him. She thought for a moment, realising just how much she enjoyed the position they were in, and debated keeping up an argument just so they could stay like this.

"I already told you why." She tried rolling over, but Soul put a gentle, but firm hand on her shoulder to hold her in place.

"Stupid reason. Give me a better one."

"No, it's perfectly reasonable. No Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. The holidays are Halloween, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. You can't just skip over a holiday like that." Maka eyed his hand, and she could feel his fingers tense up on her shoulder. Less intending to tighten the grip, more trying hard not to caress her arm.

"Come on, Maka, department stores do that all the time. Hell, they put out Christmas decorations even before Halloween is over."

"Yeah, but we aren't a department store. And we agreed on no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. Okay?" She looked up at him with a stern expression.

Soul's face softened into a smile before he dipped down and planted a small kiss on Maka's cheek.

"You can't stop me from listening to it with headphones!" he spouted quickly as he ran off towards his room, not bothering to close her door behind him.

Maka just shook her head disapprovingly at her weapon partner. She got up from the bed and started arranging all the CDs on her desk.

"As long as you don't sing it and get it stuck in my head!" Maka called to him through the wall.

She was responded to by a swift and simple bang on the wall.

Maka shuffled around the room looking for something to successfully hide the temporarily forbidden Christmas music. She went to her closet and found the show box that her normal combat boots originally came in. A box she kept specifically for hiding things from Soul. After she had packed all of it into the box and slid it under her bed, she went to her laptop on her desk to look up some decorations to suit Thanksgiving.

*pling!*

She looked down at her phone and saw a text from Soul, "Hey, what are we doing for Thanksgiving this year, anyway?"

She smiled at the message and shook her head. "Get in here and we'll discuss it," she replied.

*pling!* "You're just trying to get me in the bedroom ;)"

"Just get in here, you idiot!"

A moment later, Soul knocked on the door frame announcing his presence. Maka spun around in her desk chair as Soul sat down on her bed and picked up a yo-yo from her bedside table, starting to flick it up and down.

"So, what were you thinking of doing for Thanksgiving, Soul?"

"How about we hang out here. Just the two of us. You and me," he said slowly inching his way to the edge of the bed closest to the desk.

"Hold up there, Scythe boy." She stopped him from getting any closer by grabbing his shoulder and holding him at arm's length. "Now you know Thanksgiving is a family event, so we should spend it with family." She was spinning back and forth in her desk chair before pausing abruptly, "We could invite Wes!"

She could see the hesitation and clear discomfort he showed at the thought of inviting his older brother.

"I don't think so," he said, clearly trying not to let his feelings show through his words.

"Oh come on, you said yourself that your family doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, which means that he might not have plans. And besides, I've been dying to meet him in person."

It was true, Maka had been wanting to meet Soul's brother ever since Soul had first told her about Wes, and explained to her that the two of them had reconciled. Soul had introduced him to Maka over the phone, and the three of them held a conversation on speaker phone. Maka tried to keep in touch with Wes after that, sometimes talking on the phone or texting him, (something they both agreed never to tell Soul about.) But to actually meet him in person, Maka got excited at just the thought of it!

"I don't know. He probably has plans going to some fancy schmancy party. I wouldn't want him to miss that." Soul spat acidly, words filled with sarcasm and disdain.

"Come on, Soul. Please?" Maka looked at him trying her best to drown him in her big green puppy dog eyes.

Soul's face remained as emotionless as ever staring into her eyes. He sat like that for a moment before finally giving in. "Fine."

"Yay!" Maka squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Only if," Soul spoke out, and Maka pulled away from Soul looking him in the eye, her excitement not a bit diminished, "I get to choose what we do for New Year's."

Without a second's hesitation, Maka exclaimed "Deal!" as she held her hand out to seal the agreement.

"You're allowing me to choose whatever I want for it?"

Maka nodded.

"No matter what you say, we have to do what I've got planned?"

"I do get a say in the matter. But yes." she said.

"Fair enough." he took up her hand to shake. "Deal."

"Alright, you invite Wes, I'll call up the gang and invite them. Sound good?" Maka looked at him expectantly as he stood up and started making his way toward the door.

"Actually, how about we just have a small gathering of just the three of us? You, me, and Wes." Soul paused in the doorway.

Maka peered at him, slightly confused. "Okay, if that's what you want. But you have to insist that Wes stay for at least the weekend after Thanksgiving, and he should stay here."

Soul nearly flinched at the thought. He was frozen in his tracks for what seemed to Maka only a few seconds, but she could only imagine how long an eternity it must have seemed to be for Soul.

"Fine." He suppressed a slight growl as he walked out the door.

"Thank you, Soul. I love you!" she called out casually.

She had said that plenty of times before. It was a mere declaration of friendship, platonic love, and he knew that. They both knew that. They both loved each other on so many levels. They loved each other like family, like friends, as weapon and meister, and they had been dating for quite a while, yet they hadn't said they loved each other in that way. It almost seemed unnecessary for it to be said. They both loved each other in that way, and it seemed like they both knew that. But for some reason, neither could find the courage to say it out loud to each other. Who knows? Maybe the holiday season filled with cheesy Christmas music and classic Christmas specials would give at least one of them the courage to say it with the feeling they both felt, though have yet to fully express. Maybe.


	2. Chapter 2 - Forget All Things Stress

*Click*... *click*... *click*

"Ugh, I can't find any good Fall decorations," Maka muttered to herself as she was browsing the internet for some decorations to get into the spirit of the holiday that everyone _always _seemed to let fall by the wayside.

The seconds on the clock ticked by as the computer mouse scrolled. She had seen numerous ways to carve pumpkins, various ways to paint gourds, and countless things that involved Mason jars. It was at 8:00 that Maka's stomach decided to remind her of the fact that she hadn't eaten anything since lunch at noon. Maka checked the clock and wondered why Soul hadn't called her for dinner yet. It was his turn to cook after all.

"That idiot probably forgot again," she sighed, standing up and stretching her arms and legs; she had been sitting down and not doing anything for a good hour or more. She walked out of her room over to Soul's bedroom door, and raised her hand to knock when she heard her partner's voice on the other side.

Pressing her ear to the door, she could barely make out the words, "bummer", "sorry", and "how're mom and dad?" Those last words mumbled with clear false interest.

_Hm, he must still be talking to Wes,_ Maka thought to herself.

Deciding not to interrupt the rare occurrence of him corresponding with his brother, she shrugged and decided to make dinner herself, taking a mental note to make sure that Soul would make up for it later.

As she looked through some recipes, she noticed that the home phone was blinking, signifying the line was in use.

_He's using the home phone?_

Maka thought for a bit, and letting her curiosity get the better of her, she picked up the phone, hit the talk button, and quickly muted the phone so she could listen in on the conversation without the risk of them hearing her and finding out, trying to ignore any guilt that rested inside her for invading her partner's privacy.

"_Gee, big surprise." _Her partner's sarcasm unmistakable.

"_Come now, Soul. Don't be so cynical." _Wes's voice rung out, somewhat similar to Soul's, just not quite as low and gruff, with a slight posh ring to it, his demeanor cheerful.

"Heh, like that'll happen," Maka said to herself as she went over to the refrigerator to see what ingredients they had that could be put into a good meal.

"_I still don't care what they think." _Soul spat his words.

"_I would think you'd care about your own parents' approval."_

"Approval of what?" Maka whispered as she looked up from the recipes she was flipping through, as if looking at the phone would let her voice be heard.

"_Yeah, well, I don't. So can we just drop this subject?" _Soul growled out the words, his voice as sharp as his blade.

"_Okay, okay, forget we ever spoke on the matter," _Wes spoke, trying to avoid too big a conflict.

"_Right. Like that'll happen," _Soul mumbled, the agitation not having yet left his voice.

Maka looked at the phone with a furrowed brow. She knew Soul always got defensive and irritated whenever he talked about his parents, but this time seemed different. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something else was weighing down on his mind. Something aside from the usual vexation caused by his parents.

"_So how's life in Death City?" _Wes's voice chimed in, his cheeriness reeking of his desperate need to get onto a lighter topic.

"_Same ol', same ol'." _Soul's voice was completely void of emotion.

"_That's good, I suppose."_ Wes's voice rung with slight disappointment at Soul's dismissive reply, "_So, was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about? I know how much you_ _**abhor **__small talk."_

"_Oh, yeah, Maka and I were wondering if you wanted to come over for Thanksgiving this year." _Soul's lack of enthusiasm rang clearly in his voice.

"_Oh, I'd love to!" _Maka couldn't help but smile at Wes's genuine excitement at the offer.

"_Also, Maka said to ask you if you could stay for the whole weekend after Thanksgiving as well." _Maka could just barely make out a hint of emotion hiding underneath Soul's words. She couldn't decide whether it was the pain of inviting his brother back in his life for real, or if Soul genuinely didn't want him involved at all.

"_Hm, I'll have to check my calendar, but I think I could do that. Hold on a moment."_

Maka had been whizzing away at a breaded chicken dish that was made with chicken dipped in butter, then dipped in a mixture of crackers, garlic, and some other seasonings. She was just putting it in the oven when a low rumble came from the empty pit in her midsection, reminding her of how hungry she was, _again._

"Oh hush, you'll get food soon. Be patient," she hissed down at her growling stomach. She checked the recipe to see how long the chicken cooked for: one hour. "Okay, maybe not so soon," she mumbled to herself, regretting not checking the time _before_ she started making the food.

She set the timer, and was about to wash the crumbs off her hands when Wes came back to phone, distracting her completely, saying:

"_The whole week of Thanksgiving is free for me! I'll make a note to make reservations at a hotel nearby."_

"_Actually, Maka wanted you to stay with us at our apartment." _Soul spoke with such neutrality in his voice that she could hardly make out the slightest bit of emotion, whatsoever.

"_Even better! So, it's settled; I'll come down the Monday before Thanksgiving and leave either the following Saturday or Sunday." _Wes spoke with such optimism and cheeriness that Maka could only imagine would make Soul gag.

"_Oh, and I could even make that pie that I would always make for you for your birthday! And you two must_ _let me help with Thanksgiving dinner!"_

"_Oh crap! I forgot to make dinner! Wes, I gotta go, Maka's gonna kill me. I'll call you later," _Maka couldn't help but smirk at the clear panic in Soul's voice.

"_I'll hold you to that, brother," _Wes joked. "_Goodbye, and good luck."_

Maka heard the phone _click _into it's reciever, and she tried to wash her hands off and put the phone back where it was supposed to go as quickly as possible so Soul wouldn't know she was eavesdropping, but Soul walked out of the door as she was drying her hands.

_Not fast enough _Maka thought to herself as she glanced at the phone hiding amongst various things sitting on the counter.

"Oh, hey Soul!" she practically sang.

"Hey, about dinner-"

"Yeah, it's in the oven." Maka said, significantly less cheerful than her initial greeting.

"Sorry, Maka. I was on the phone with Wes and-Oh, yeah, uhhh he said he could come over the week of Thanksgiving. Sooo, yeah." Soul's voice dropped all signs of emotion when he mentioned his brother coming over.

"Oh really? That's great!" Maka put on a smile that stretched her cheeks to the max.

"Yeah, so what do I have to do to make up for forgetting to make dinner? _Again._"

"Haven't decided yet. I'll tell you when I think of something. There's no way you're off the hook though."

Soul shrugged, a gesture that showed that he accepted defeat. "Hey, I'm not all that hungry. I'm gonna go for a walk. See ya later," he flicked two fingers in a mixture of a wave and salute as he stepped out the door, letting some cool air in.

Maka leaned over to a window that looked out into the street in front of their apartment. She watched as Soul walked off, shoulders hunched trying to fight off the cold.

Maka could tell something was on his mind. He would always go for a walk when he had to think things through. He normally had enough brains to grab a jacket though. He always ended up going for a walk after a phone call with Wes. Although he never talked about it with Maka, she thought it was pretty safe to say the cause of the troubles always came from whatever they had discussed about their parents.

She sometimes listened in on their phone calls, (only on occasion) so she knew that the normal flow of conversation would start out with exchanging pleasantries, asking if anything was new, and then Soul would ask how their parents were, even though the welfare of his parents never seemed to matter at all to him, and he never put forth the effort to make it sound like it did.

Maka shrugged it off as she put the phone back on the hook and went to the cupboard to find a snack to tide her over until dinner would be ready.

If Soul was really bothered by something, he would tell her.

She was sure of it.

A week had gone by, and Soul was as calm as could be about the upcoming holiday, but Maka was freaking out to the max. She was spending all of her time stressing about the menu for Thanksgiving dinner, worrying about if the house was clean enough, and worrying if there were enough Fall themed decorations.

She had been running to and from stores, making Soul come along with her to offer his opinion on whether it would be better to get the Macintosh or a "Triple fragrance" scented candle, and whether the red or the dark green candles would look better. His opinion on which strand of leaf garland they should get seemed of utmost importance to her, as well as what type of paint they should use to paint flower pots,not to mention whether they should get candy corn or mellowcreme pumpkins. Or both.

Soul actually thought about all of it, and had a good eye for colour and decorations, so he helped a lot, even though he was clearly bored out of his mind the whole time, and all he wanted to do was go home and watch tv. Or take a nap.

After a day of shopping at every craft store in Death City, _again_, and, upon Soul's insistence, going out for lunch, they got back home and Soul immediately made his way over to the couch, sitting down, and flicking the TV on to some random show as Maka answered the ringing phone.

"What? No, but you can't-I'm sorry but-But Soul won't-But-" Maka stammered into the phone. "Uhm, okay, bye," she said as she hung the phone back up.

She collapsed on the couch, her head laying in Soul's lap, her expression everything short of terrified.

"Problems?" Soul said lowering his gaze to see Maka with her wrist on her forehead in melodramatic despair.

"I just got off the phone with my father." Her eyes filled with even more worry and distress. "He said he's coming over for Thanksgiving dinner."

Sudden realization and terror flooded Soul's eyes as he deadpanned "No," showing the first sign of any _real _emotion towards the upcoming holiday. "He can _not_ join us. How could you even let him?" Soul stood up in outrage completely losing his cool, calm demeanor.

"I didn't invite him! He invited himself." Maka sat up after recovering from the drop of her head from the loss of her "pillow."

Soul was pacing frantically. Maka hadn't seen him this on edge since he had those nightmares about black blood. He was completely unhinged, completely different from his calm, composed self he had shown for the past week. She couldn't figure out what was getting him so worked up.

"Why didn't you tell him no? No, I'll tell him. He is _not_ coming over. No! Not while Wes is here." Soul started fumbling with his hands trying to get his jacket on.

That's what was getting him so racked up over this. His brother. Maka stood up placing her hands on his trembling shoulders, rubbing them over his back to soothe him, knowing he'd need the comfort. "Soul, calm down. Just sit down, okay?"

They both lowered down onto the couch, and Maka put a calming hand on Soul's still nervously twitching hands.

"Hey," she tilted his face upward so his crimson eyes could meet her big pools of emerald green, "being stressed is my job, okay? You're the one who's supposed to be calming _me_ down."

"But Maka, you can't let that creep of a dad you have, come over. No, not possible. Not allowed. No way. No fu-."

Maka cut him off by a swift peck on the lips. "Hey, calm down. If it's that big a deal, I'll take care of it tomorrow. I'll go over to see him and tell him he can't come over. Sound good?" Maka stared into his wide eyes filled with a mixture of anger and horror as they gradually softened into a much calmer, relieved gaze.

Soul managed to get a small, soft smile onto his face. "Sorry. Let's stay cool, okay?"

Maka leaned in, wrapping her arms around his neck and feeling his hands on her back, her smile stretching across her face widely at the words they had been saying to each other for years. Whenever one of them would "lose their cool" they would remind each other those words.

"Now, how about we watch a movie and forget about all things stress for a while, okay?" She said breaking away from the hug.

"Sounds good." He had managed to shove all emotions back down and he adopted an entirely different, _fun_, happy demeanor as he jumped up off the couch into a standing position. "Alright, what movie shall we watch?" He said, spinning in a smooth, showoff-y fashion, stopping as he met her eyes again, "My meister, Maka."

Smiling at her now happy partner, and blushing slightly at the use of her meister title, she answered, "You can choose. Pick one of your favourites!"

Soul took a step back. "My favourites? That doesn't narrow it down all that much." Soul walked over to the bookcase that held their bountiful collection of DVDs. He hovered his finger over the selection and picked up a thick, dark, dusty red case.

"So, what are we watching tonight, my dear weapon?" She inquired cheerfully as she started unfolding a blanket that had been on the back of the couch.

"We are watching:" he paused for dramatic effect as he always did before revealing the movie choice of the night. "**The Fellowship of the Ring**"

Maka raised an eyebrow "Lord of the Rings? But that takes forever!" she whined, tossing her head back, getting exhausted just at the thought of the 12 hour long extended edition of the movie series.

"Well, we have two options. We could, A. stay up all night watching it. Or B. watch it all over the course of a few days. Your choice," he gave her a smile that could only be described as a replacement for a wink.

"I'm not staying up all night. I need my sleep. I still haven't worked out all the details for Thanksgiving yet, and I only have a week and a half left."

Soul laughed at her as he put the disc in the DVD player. "You're missing the point of the movie. The movie is to relax you, get your mind off of all things stress, remember? I think _you_ need a shoulder rub. Ease some of that tension you have."

"I don't, really, but if you insist." She turned so that she was facing the armrest of the couch. That way Soul could give her a massage while still giving him room enough on the sofa for the both of them.

Soul hit the "Play" button on the remote, starting the movie, and turned out all the lights, as was their protocol when it came to watching movies.

Maka could hear Soul rubbing his hands together before feeling the cushions sink down a bit, indicating that Soul had sat down behind her on the couch. She had pulled all her hair up in a high bun on the back of her head so it wouldn't get in the way of the massage, and Soul went to work rubbing away all the tension that was stored up in Maka's shoulders.

"Mmmmmmm! 'at feels good." Maka hummed, only half paying attention to the Hobbit's eleventy-first birthday celebration.

"Of course it does." Soul said with such arrogance, you could hear the smirk in his words.

Once it got to the point in the movie where Bilbo had left the Shire and Frodo was talking to Gandalf back at his home, Soul took his hands off Maka's shoulders, finishing up with the massage, and he turned forward to face the movie.

Maka turned facing the television and rested her head on Soul's shoulder.

"You have magic hands, you know that?" she said, looking up to see his face only illuminated by the light coming from the Hobbit hole on the screen.

"They can do more a hell of a lot more than just rub your shoulders, you know." Soul smirked, his eyebrows shooting up. Maka smacked him in the chest for the humour she didn't always approve of, but she smiled despite the fact.

They sat and watched the movie while Soul was giving random behind-the-scenes facts, pointless information about the scenery and props, and showing off his useless knowledge of the movie. Something Maka teased him about, but secretly found really cute.

"_SHIRE! BAGGINS!" _Soul quoted along with the movie in his best impression of the character Gollum.

Maka couldn't help but laugh out loud at his mimicry of the character whose actor based his voice off of the sounds of a cat coughing up a hairball. Something Soul never forgot to mention each time they watched this movie series. "You're such a nerd, Soul." Maka yawned out her words.

"Getting tired, Maka?" he replied with a soft smile that she could hear in his voice.

"Never," she said as Soul raised his arm to put around her shoulders, and she squirmed a bit, curling into a ball and settling into a position so she was snuggled up closer to him, with her head resting on his chest.

They sat like that staring at the screen, watching the adventure to destroy the ring begin, and Maka started fluttering her eyelids in order to keep them open, trying desperately to stay awake. The last thing she remembered seeing clearly before dozing off was Pippin getting disappointed as he listed all of the Hobbit meals.


	3. Chapter 3 - A Book is a Book, Right?

Maka's eyes fluttered open to a bright screen with the dramatic violins from the menu screen playing. She looked up and saw a genuine soft smile on her still sleeping partner. He looked peaceful, not grumpy or sullen like he normally did when he was awake. It was a nice, but rare sight. Noticing the clock that read 9:31, she was going to go and start on breakfast so she could head out to her father's house to break the news to him that he won't be allowed to attend Thanksgiving dinner.

As she hazily tried to get up, she was stopped by a pair of arms trapping her. She looked down and saw Soul's arm wrapped around her waist, his hands clasped at her side, and she could just barely feel his other arm wrapped around her back.

"Soooouuuuullll! Geeettt uuuuupppp!" She whined, still half asleep herself. "Sooouullll!" She kept nudging him and jabbing him with her elbow, but he remained fast asleep, not budging an inch. She gave up her pursuit and, now fully awake, looked around for something to occupy her time while Soul slept.

As she scanned her eyes over the room she caught glimpse of a book lying on the coffee table in front of the couch. She couldn't see what book it was, but Maka -being the booklover she was- figured it couldn't be too bad. A book is a book, right? Besides, anything would beat just sitting here doing nothing. No matter how warm and cozy it may have felt.

She reached her legs out and very carefully gripped the book between her feet and brought her legs up within arms' reach so she could grab it. Once it was in her grasp, she read the title: **Star Wars: Heir to the Empire** by Timothy Zahn.

Maka mulled it over a bit, wondering whether or not she was desperate enough to read a Star Wars novel. The franchise had never interested her, and science fiction never really caught her attention the way most other genres did.

_Well it __**is**_ _a book. Plus, it'll be a long while before Soul will wake up…_ Maka opened it up, deciding to read the first chapter just to see how it was.

She got through the eleven page chapter which only introduced the bad guys, showed them having a brief encounter with their enemy, and then showed them planning to head to a planet that Jedi have seldom gone to. The few that have, didn't stay long, thus making it a perfect headquarters type thing for the Empire.

_Well, that didn't establish much plot. I can't really decide if I like it or not just from that. Maybe I should read some more. _Maka snuggled up a smidge closer to Soul and continued reading until her eyes couldn't stay open any longer.

She woke up lying flat on the couch, the book sitting on her chest with a bookmark sticking out of it.

She heard the fridge door close in the other room. Knowing it had to be Soul, she stood up, stretching her arms high, and made her way into the kitchen to see what he was up to.

"Soul?" her voice came out as no more than a tired squeak.

"Hey, sleepy head, you finally decide to join the land of the living?" he asked as he stuffed a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth.

"Soul, you can't eat ice cream for breakfast. It's not good for you. You need protein." Maka may have been tired, but she was never too tired to act like a mother and scold Soul. (Or anyone for that matter.)

"Hey, there's some protein in ice cream. Look at the nutrition facts," he spoke, spewing ice cream out of his full mouth, pointing to the freezer with his spoon.

Maka opened the door and looked at the listing of how many grams/milligrams of various things were in the frozen desert.

"Soul, 2 grams of protein per serving is not good enough."

"How much is a serving?"

"½ cup."

Soul looked down at his bowl, "Well, I probably got about two servings, so that's twice the protein!"

"Yeah, also twice the sugar, fat, choles-"

Maka was cut off by a spoonful of ice cream shoved into her mouth.

"Yeah, so what?" Soul said to her. "I'll put some pecans in it. That'll add some protein. Or better yet, I'll add some cereal, that way it'll even be breakfast-y!"

Maka just crossed her arms across her chest and glared as he smirked at her.

Giving up in her attempt to get Soul to eat a more balanced breakfast, she huffed and turned around calling back to him, "Eat whatever you want! I'm taking a shower."

"I was already eating whatever I wanted."

Maka's head snapped back and she gave him the most fierce death stare she could manage. He just smirked some more and ate his ice cream, and Maka went over to the shower.

About fifteen minutes into her shower she heard Soul's voice call out her name from behind the closed (and of course, locked) door.

She ignored it, hoping he would think she didn't hear him, and move on. But then he started a loud, constant, fast paced rapping. "Hey, Makaaa" he drew out the last syllable

"Soul, would you go away! I'm in the shower right now." Maka irritation was rising.

"Yeah, I know, I can hear that. But I've got a question for ya."

"Ask me later!" Her voice was getting higher, edging towards an angry shriek.

"But it's important!"

Maka noticed her jaw was clenched and her eyebrows were furrowed in anger. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down, and put a neutral expression on her face, even though no one could see it. "What is it, Soul?"

"What's your favourite colour?"

Maka's jaw tensed back up again and angered filled her whole being. "HOW IS THAT AN IMPORTANT QUESTION YOU IDIOT AND BESIDES YOU ALREADY KNOW THAT WOULD YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE-Oh damn it!" As she shouted, making wide gestures with her arms in her anger, she managed to knock over all the shampoo/body wash/etc. bottles in the shower. She turned the shower off, having already done the necessities and skipping shaving her legs, because it was fucking November, cold outside, and she would be wearing pants anyways, so there was no reason for her legs to be smooth. She got out of the shower, hastily wrapped a towel around her, and started picking up all the fallen shampoo and bodywash, etc.

She could just barely hear Soul sniggering on the other side of the door, which only made her anger rise even higher.

Once she had picked them all up, she stood up straight, looked in the mirror to see how much her fury showed on her face. Not all that much.

She walked out, grip on her towel tight as a vice. She stepped out the door and bumped into Soul nearly falling over. Soul caught her just in time with an arm around her back.

"Hey." Soul said, smirking down at her, and she felt a blush fill her cheeks, despite her current irritation at him.

"Oh, I remember now. Your favourite colour is red. Much like that skirt you always wear, or my eyes, or the current colour of your face," he winked at her as he pulled her up against him. making her face grow warmer with what she could only guess was a very, very bright shade of red.

He looked into her eyes and she tried not to blush anymore instead opting to give him, what she hoped was, a somewhat intimidating death glare.

He just shook his head and chuckled, planting a soft peck on her lips that felt nice and warm. "You're adorable," he said as he grabbed her hand, spinning her around once before letting go and walking back into the kitchen.

Maka looked at him as he walked away, wishing that kiss could've lasted just a bit longer, if not forever.

"Hey! No, I'm angry at you!" she called out as she marched up to him, trying to shake the desire to go over and plant a longer, more passionate kiss on him while running her hands through his glorious, soft, white hair.

"Why? There is _literally_ no reason for you to be mad at me."

Maka just looked at him, trying to stay upset with him. She emphatically put her hands on her hips with a huff, suddenly remembering she was still only wearing a towel. She quickly put a hand to the top of the towel to prevent it from falling down, and turned away from Soul, suddenly feeling very flustered.

She heard Soul give a low chuckle, "Go get dressed. I've got a date planned for the two of us."

Getting over her slight embarrassment, she turned around, looking at Soul, letting a hint of excitement come into her voice as she asked "Where are we going?"

"Now, I'm going to tell you something that you seem to always forget, so try to remember this time around." He walked over to her and stood right in front of her, leaving practically no room in between the two. He, being taller than her by just a few inches, looked down at her, small pools of red boring into her green eyes. "If I told you, it would ruin the surprise." He smirked, taking a step back, as Maka crossed her arms again in a huff.

"You're so obnoxious."

"I know, I know. Don't worry, you'll love it. You always do." He gave her a smile. Not quite an arrogant smile, not quite a soft smile, but somewhere in the middle. "Now, go get dressed. And here, have some breakfast" He added as he tossed her a strawberry cereal bar, prompting a soft smile from Maka at the simple yet sweet gesture.

"I'm going. I'm going." She trudged on into her bedroom.

"Oh, and this too," she turned around and just barely caught the chocolate bar that he had tossed in an arc over towards her. "You seem like you need some."

Maka growled at him, but as soon as she walked through the door and closed it, she instantly let a giant grin overtake her face, and she tried her best not to jump up and down in her excitement.

Whenever Soul took her on a surprise date it was always the best thing, and the night afterwards Maka would lay awake on her bed reliving every single moment of the day in her head a hundred times over. Whenever he would say they were going somewhere and it was going to be a surprise, she would always get far too excited, taking the care to dress up nicely.

She practically danced over to her closet and picked out a nice pale yellow sweater that was just thick enough so she wouldn't need a coat, but also thin enough so that she wouldn't get too hot. She grabbed some dark blue skinny jeans, and some black boots that went up to her knees. Once she was dressed, she walked over to the mirror with a critical eye, trying to decide what to do with her hair. She pondered for a moment, and finally decided on twin French fishtail braids, a simple hairstyle that Tsubaki had taught her.

She heard a knock on the door, and Soul's voice calling out, "You ready?"

"Just a minute!" she called out while wrapping the hair elastic around the end of her braid.

She looked at her face and debated the thought of makeup. She rarely ever wore any, yet almost everyday she debated whether or not she should put some on. Mainly the only occasion she did was whenever she went to a fancy party, or when Liz insisted she simply _had_ to put on some eyeliner, mascara, "and lipstick is essential!" She mulled it over a bit and opted not to today. Just like every other day.

She walked out of her room and Soul popped up, springing to life once she walked through the door. He had been leaning against the wall outside her bedroom, waiting for her patiently, and now he was all ready to head out the door.

He looked at her, eyeing her braids and said, "So, if the braids are called fishtails, and the two of them makes it pigtails, does that make it fish-pigtails? No, no. Pig-fishtails." Maka just giggled at him, and he smiled at her in return. "You ready to go?"

"Mmhmm!" She hummed with a smile stretching wide across her face.

They made their way outside and onto Soul's motorcycle. Soul started up the engine and Maka swung her leg over the vehicle, pressing up against him and wrapping her arms around him tightly, feeling the warmth of him through his jacket.

They drove for a good hour and a half before reaching a park with big open fields and giant trees. Soul put the kickstand down and hopped off. Maka looked around at the beautiful scenery surrounding her. She had never been here before, and she hadn't paid any attention to the road signs to pinpoint where they were; she was completely in the dark regarding their location.

"So, Maka, what do you think of this place?" Soul asked, gesturing wide at the park around him.

"I don't know, I like it I guess." Maka shrugged.

"What do you mean, 'you guess'?"

"Well, I've only seen this much of it, so I wouldn't know."

"Well, let's check it out, then." He smiled at her. "Come on, let's go." He extended his hand, and she grabbed hold of it, ready to go adventuring through this new place.

They took off sprinting, exploring the park that was much larger than Maka had originally anticipated. They ran around, climbed some trees, skipped some stones across a pond, and just overall had a grand and glorious time. They saw a bald eagle, tons of squirrels, both brown and black, and even a few deer.

"Look at that!" Maka had said when she saw the first black squirrel and pointing to it. Having never seen a black squirrel before, she marvelled at its dark fur. "It's so cool!"

"Yeah, have you never seen a black squirrel before?" She could hear the mildly amused surprise in Soul's voice.

"No, I haven't." Maka felt as if she had been missing out on these dark creatures her whole life. "They're so pretty."

"Did you know that they are a sign of good luck?"

"Really?"

"No, of course not. That's stupid." Soul just laughed as Maka slapped him on the arm.

They continued walking around the park until about 3:00 and Soul suggested they go out for a very late lunch. They drove on the motorcycle for about ten minutes before stopping at a cute little diner.

Their choice of food was some giant cheeseburgers about the size of Maka's face, and a side of delightfully crispy fries. Maka couldn't finish her burger, though she wouldn't let Soul eat the rest of it because he already had his own, and she wanted to save hers for later. It could be her lunch for tomorrow, maybe even the day after. Something this size could potentially last a few days. They got a chocolate milkshake to share, and then headed back towards home.

Once they walked through the door to their apartment, Maka immediately went over and collapsed onto the couch with a big sigh. Not of relief, nor exasperation, but something more like a dreamy sigh. She let herself relive about half the day in her mind before turning her head and seeing the book she had started earlier laying on the coffee table.

Soul must've noticed her staring at it, because he asked, as he handed her a mug of tea, "What did you think of the book so far?"

She sat up and hugged the mug close to her, letting all the warmth soak in through her hands and all the way down to her very core. Soul sat down next to her, casually slinging his arm over the back of the sofa. She leaned forward and grabbed the book off the table, examining the cover. "I don't know. It's good, I guess."

"What's with all the guessing today? Yes or no? Good or bad? One or the other, no more of this guessing crap."

"Well, I'll give you my opinion after I finish it, okay?"

Soul rolled his eyes at her, "Fine."

She leaned into him a bit and he moved his arm from the back of the couch to around her shoulders. She closed her eyes, reveling in the warmth coming from both Soul and the mug of tea; she felt so at home, at peace, and at ease. She felt like she could spend forever sitting like that, and she wanted to but,

"I still need to call Papa!" She shouted as she jerked upright, almost spilling her tea with the abrupt motion.

"Oh, that," Soul went from the soft smile he had almost all day to an almost despondent expression.

"Yeah, I should go do that before I forget, again."

"You know what?" Soul pushed himself up off the couch. "I'll go over there and talk to him."

"Oh, no, you don't have to." Maka told him, although she enjoyed the thought of not having to handle her father herself, she didn't want Soul to have to put up with him either.

"Nah, it's fine, really. I had something I wanted to ask him anyways, so it's no problem."

"Oh really? What is it you were going to ask him?" Maka cocked her head to the side, confused as to what Soul would want to ask her _father _of all people.

Soul seemed to not even hear the question, or at least he made it appear that way, as he grabbed his keys and asked where he should stop to pick up dinner on his way home.

"Um, you pick. Pick your favourite, and get me something tasty!" Maka felt strangely indecisive and noncommittal.

"Alright, I'll be back. See ya!" Soul called as he closed the front door.

Maka stared at the door in silence for a moment. _Well that was weird. What would Soul want to ask Papa? _Eventually Maka just shrugged it off though, trying not to think too hard on it. She picked up the book again, and turned to where the bookmark was placed, losing all outside thoughts as she dove into the world in between the pages.


	4. Chapter 4 - Monday

_**A/N: **I didn't have a beta for this chapter, so sorry if it's not perfect, I tried my best to edit it, but I'm a bit lazy so I'm not sure. But I think it's fine. Enjoy!_

"Morning, sleepy head!" Soul's voice ringing with amusement as Maka walked out of her bedroom

She had changed out of her pajamas and just threw on some sweatpants and a baggy band t-shirt she found in the laundry hamper. She figured Soul had tossed it in with one of Maka's loads of laundry, and she hadn't gotten around to giving it back to him.

"Why am I so tired?" Maka yawned making the words barely understandable, even to her own ears. "What day is it, again?"

"Monday," Soul shrugged as he turned back to the scrambled eggs he was preparing for breakfast.

"Monday… Monday… Monday?..." Maka felt like something was important about the word? the day? the sound? Something was significant about… "Crap! Isn't today the day that Wes is coming?" She shouted, instantly going from tired and ready to fall back asleep to completely awake and stressed.

"Yeah, so?" Soul was wiping his hands off on a towel hanging from the oven handle, and moved the pan of eggs onto a pot holder on the counter and turned the stove off.

"Soooo, we need to clean! We need to get the house ready. Wait, where is he going to sleep? When is he getting here?"

"He didn't tell me."

"Well that doesn't matter right now, where is he going to sleep? Not on the couch. He can sleep in your room and you can sleep on the couch."

"Why do I have to sleep on the couch? Why can't he sleep in your room and _you_ sleep on the couch?"

Maka ignored the clear irritation in Soul's voice as she frantically started straightening up the coffee table.

"Soul, please? It's just for a week. Come on, pleeeaaaaasse?" Maka stopped cleaning to stare at Soul from across the room, making her eyes as big and pitiful as she could, to get him to cave in.

Soul walked over to her, "I don't know. You'll have to owe me one."

"What will I owe you?"

"Haven't decided. But, if I sleep on the couch, you have to owe me something. Be it a favour or just anything. Deal?" Soul extended his hand.

Maka eyed his hand as she mulled it over. She took hold of it and shook it, sealing the deal. "Fine. Now help me clean. This place is a pigsty."

"No, it isn't, and breakfast first." He still had hold of her hand and pulled her over to the kitchen to eat some food. Maka didn't fight it, knowing that Soul was almost as stubborn as she was, and she didn't feel like arguing.

She pulled out her chair, sat down, and Soul scooted the chair forward so she was closer to the table. He went over to the counter and grabbed two plates and the pan of eggs.

"So, what time is Wes coming over?" Maka called over to Soul as the sounds of scraping the pan rang through the air.

He stepped out from behind the counter and walked towards the table carrying the plates of food. "I already answered that question. He didn't tell me." He set the plates down, one in front of Maka, the other in front of his seat, and he sat down in the chair.

"Well, how about you call him?"

"Can I eat fir-"

Soul was interrupted by his ring tone of some song that Maka could never put a name to. Soul pulled the phone out of his pocket, looked at it and winked at Maka.

"Gotta take this." he said as he stood up from his chair, pressing the phone to his ear, only turning away from Maka instead of walking to another room.

"Hello," his voice giving a casual greeting.

He seemed very suspicious to Maka. "Who is it?" She whispered.

Soul put up his index finger signalling her to be quiet and be patient. "Oh, I'm doing great, I was just sitting down to have some breakfast with Maka when you called." He turned and gave Maka another sly wink, getting under her skin even more.

"Who is it, Soul?" she asked, her irritation in her voice sounding more clear than she intended.

Soul positioned the phone away from his mouth and whispered "Hold on, I'll tell you in a minute." He put the speaker back up to his lips and spoke into it, "You know, she and I were actually _just _talking about that."

"What? Wait, is it Wes?" At this point, Maka was already standing up trying to get close enough to overhear the conversation, but Soul kept pushing her away.

"Alright, that's great….I'll be sure to tell her….See ya then." Soul pulled the phone away from his ear and pressed the "end call" spot on the touch screen.

Maka hung on his arm, looking at him with eyes wide with expectancy. "Well?"

"Wes says 'Hi!'" Soul said putting the phone back into his pocket and shook Maka off his arm so he could sit and enjoy his breakfast.

Maka whacked him on the arm. "Soul! _When is he coming over?"_ Maka enunciated each syllable marking them with a point of irritation.

Soul just laughed. "He's coming over at 5. Now, sit down and eat your breakfast."

"5? Well, that's not much time! We've got to get this place cleaned spotless!" Maka turned to go get a broom but Soul caught her arm faster than she could blink.

"Cool it, Maka." he said as he pulled her arm gently telling her to turn back to him. "It's only 11:30 right now, we've got plenty of time. Besides, this place is already clean. We just need to straighten up a bit, maybe sweep, and we'll be fine."

"No but we also need to-"

"Eat breakfast? I agree. Sit down and eat." Soul seemed to speak with genuine care in his voice.

Maka sat down with a huff, stuffing a forkful of eggs into her mouth.

"So, how is your breakfast." Soul spoke up as Maka was about three quarters of the way done with her food.

"Delicious as always." The stubborn girl muttered the words through pursed lips with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"'S'that all I get? So much for gratitude."

Maka just rolled her eyes as she stuffed the remainder of her food in her mouth and scooted her chair back. Soul grabbed her hand as she tried to stand up.

"What's the big rush? Come on, Maka, calm down. Sit and have pleasant conversation."

"No, I'm going to start cleaning. The kitchen needs lots of work." She jerked her hand away from Soul's grasp and ran off into the kitchen.

"Hey, you know what's best for cleaning?" Soul called out to her as he stood up and started walking over to the kitchen.

"What's that?" She shouted above the sound of the faucet filling the sink with water so she could clean the dirty dishes.

He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Music. Music is the best way to get motivated to clean." He turned his head resting his ear on her shoulder and whispered into her neck, "And you know what the best music for cleaning is?" He placed a quick kiss on her neck.

Maka tried hard to ignore the warmth of both the closeness of their bodies and the soft lips on the bare skin above the collar of the t-shirt she wore, something she normally would enjoy immensely. "No Christmas music, Soul. You already know this."

Soul pulled away from her and place his hands on her hips, spinning her around so she could face him.

"How about _that_ be what you owe me?"

Maka looked at him, confused, "Huh?"

"I have to sleep on the couch this whole week, and because of this, you owe me something. Well, I want to listen to Christmas music. You shook on the deal, you said _anything._ So, either I get to play Christmas music out loud, or _you_ have to sleep on the couch."

Maka looked in his eyes, his gaze showed victory. He had cornered her and it was a win-win situation for him, and she had to decide which she wanted more; her strict policy of no Christmas music before Thanksgiving, or her comfortable bed.

"Fine." She spat out the word, the single syllable ringing clear with hurt pride and angered defeat. "I'll go grab your CDs." She reached forward and wiped her soaked hands on the shirt he wore. and jumped out of his reach so he couldn't get back at her for it.

She walked into her bedroom, looking back to make sure Soul didn't follow her, before reaching under her bed to grab the shoebox that held the forbidden Christmas music. She pulled out the stack of CDs and-having them piled in her arms, trying hard not to drop them-she walked out of the room.

Soul grabbed all the CDs and hugged them to his chest. Whether it was so they wouldn't fall, or because he missed them, Maka wasn't sure.

"Now, which one shall we listen to first?" He asked as he played them all across the, now clean, kitchen table.

"I don't know, put on TSO."

"Trans-Siberian Orchestra, it is!" He snatched it up off the table and made a three quarter spin and made his way over to the stereo; suddenly walking with a lot more pep in his step than Maka had seen since a few days before Halloween when he had gotten the final piece of his costume.

Maka walked back to the sink filled with soapy water and put a large bowl into it as loud piano music started to fill the air.

Soul looked at her and she could just barely see his hands tapping the table, his fingers moving as if he was playing the piano.

She just shook her head at his silliness as he started air guitaring once it got to the chorus, the strong voice of the singer singing about the cold winter air.

She washed all the dirty dishes that had been piled up on the counter, because Soul hadn't fixed the dishwasher like he said he would. Soul went over to her and held out his hand.

"Dance with me?"

"To 'A Mad Russian's Christmas'? Come on, Soul, this isn't a very good dancing song." She said as the electric guitars came into the song then stopped once it got back to the almost eerie, getting progressively more dramatic piano playing.

"Just try it." He reached and grabbed her hand from her side and pulled her over to dance.

He pulled her in, placing his free hand at her waist, and started swaying to the echoing piano keys, dipping her, or spinning her out when the electric guitars would jump in.

"Listen to the piano, Maka."

"What about it?"

The music made a big crescendo, then a decrescendo.

Soul smiled at her.

A small silence fell in the music

"There's insanity in that piano"

The song picked up again, louder and much faster this time

Soul pulled her in and spun the two of them around. He was very good at dancing, and he managed to keep up with the beat, spinning them in circles, practically trotting to the music, dipping her or picking her up and spinning around at the perfect points in the song.

The song started to slow and quiet down, and Maka was ready to stop, but after a half rest in the music, it picked back up and Soul was spinning her again. Although tired and not the best at dancing, Maka was always able to keep up with Soul. No matter which way he went, she would go as well.

The song ended with a big finish as Soul spun Maka out and they ended with their arms spread out.

Maka collapsed, sitting down on the floor, exhausted and giggling.

Soul held his hands out to her.

"Not another dance." Maka's voice sounded tired and almost hopeless.

"No, I want to help you up."

"Oh," she shrugged and looked away to hide the slight blush she felt creep onto her cheeks. She reached to grab his hands and he pulled her up. She didn't quite catch her balance at first and she fell against Soul.

"Dork," Soul laughed softly, as he wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace.

Her arms were tucked in against her chest and the hug was too tight for her to move them to wrap around him in return, so she just stood there revelling in the warmth emanating from him.

He broke away after what felt like an eternity and, at the same time, not nearly long enough. He looked at her, "Are the dishes done?"

Maka felt as if those words woke her up, bringing her out of a trance and bringing her back to the real world; the world where she couldn't spend hours in his arms and instead she had to clean the rest of the apartment.

"Yep, unless there are some in the dishwasher."

Soul lifted his arm and placed his hand at the back of his neck, he stretched his mouth wide, avoiding eye contact.

"There still is, isn't there?" Maka crossed her arms and gave him a scolding look.

"Maybe a few…" Soul's eyes were making circles around the room, avoiding her gaze like the plague.

Maka turned around and walked into kitchen. She opened to the dishwasher to see it full of dishes. She stood up to see Soul trying to sneak away into his bedroom.

"Soul Eater Evans!" She called out and he froze in place. "I told you not to put the dishes in the dishwasher until it was fixed! And weren't you going to fix it _last_ week?"

"Yeah, about that…" Soul started rubbing the back of his neck nervously, as Maka crossed her arms in front of her chest, tapping her foot impatiently. "I was _going_ to fix it, it's just with Thanksgiving preparations and all, I couldn't get around to it."

"Soul, _I_ was the one preparing for Thanksgiving. Not _you. _That is not an acceptable excuse."

"I will fix it tomorrow, okay? I'll even get Wes to help out."

"Only if he's okay with helping out. Otherwise you're not making him, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever." He said walking away into his bedroom.

"Hey, you need to help clean as well!" She yelled through the just barely cracked door.

Soul poked his head out, "I know, I was going to clean in here." He disappeared into the room and the door flew open with a push from his foot.

After the CD was over, Soul walked into the kitchen and reached into the fridge. "I'm reheating some pizza."

"In the oven?" Maka was brushing the crumbs off of a counter.

"Is there really any other way to reheat it?"

"Well, make sure you clean the dishes you use, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. How many pieces will you eat?"

"One is fine. Or… yeah, just one."

After ten minutes, they ate their lunch of reheated leftover pizza, and then Soul set up another CD, and they got back to work.

"Why are all the DVDs on the floor?" Soul was taking the last CD out of the stereo, looking down at Maka who was sitting on the floor with a mound of movies around her that reached up to her waist.

"Well I bumped into the bookcase they were on, and they all fell. Don't worry, I'm putting them all back.

_"__No!"_ Soul demanded in a slight panic. "This is a very precise matter, let me show you." Soul lowered down onto the floor sitting close to Maka.

He then spent fifteen minutes explaining which movies are supposed to go in chronological order and which ones have to go in alphabetical order. And there was the section where special movies and movie series' go.

"That's way too much work, Soul. Why are you so specific about this?" Maka was stretching her legs that she had been sitting on during the entire process.

"Because movies are special, and they need to be taken care of." Soul was running his hands across all the DVDs, smoothing them out, making sure they were all pushed in all the way.

"You're just too picky."

"I'm not picky, I'm meticulous."

"Persnickety!" Maka called out in a sing-songy voice as she walked away from him.

Soul caught her in his arms, swinging her around in her circle. She picked her legs up, turning into a small ball of giggles.

"Hey, it's almost my favourite song. Shall we dance again?" Soul whispered down her neck.

Maka did half a giggle more, "I guess 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman' is a better song to dance to. If you insist."

He let go of her and she spun around putting her hand on his shoulder, and grabbing his free hand just as the song ended.

The dramatic brass instrument playing the melody and the low piano in the background filled the air, and Soul took her spinning, stepping in perfect time with the music like he had rehearsed it a thousand times over. It being his favourite song that he had been listening to all his life, Maka wouldn't be surprised if he did rehearse it.

The music picked up and Soul was dancing so beautifully all Maka knew was the music and the man before her eyes. That was the only thing in the world, everything else faded away. The only thing that mattered was the song filling the air, the face in front of her, and which direction her feet were going next.

The danced and danced, the 4 minute song felt like an eternity. Their souls were in perfect sync, their eyes were locked with each other's, their feet moved at the same time, in perfect unison.

This song, instead of reaching a dramatic finish, it slowly faded out, leaving them standing in their dancing position, looking into each other's eyes, slightly short of breath. Soft, slow, piano music playing "Silent Night" replaced the previous dramatic song.

Maka's chest heaved with a big inhale. Soul pulled his hand out of Maka's grasp, bringing it up and placing it softly on her cheek. He leaned in for a soft, passionate kiss.

They broke away, their eyes locking in place again.

"I…"

*Knock* *knock* *knock*

Soul was cut off by a rapping on the door.

"I'll go see who it is." Maka whispered, not yet wanting to break the meaningful silence that spoke a whole new language.

She walked over and opened the front door to see a tall young man, with light blonde hair over mahogany brown eyes. He carried a large duffel bag in his hand a had a leather briefcase/messenger bag type thing hanging at his hip, the strap going across his chest.

"Maka, is it?" He said with an unmistakable deep voice with a posh ring to it.

"Wes? What are you doing here so early? Come in, come in!" She reached to take his bag from him but he just moved it out of her grasp with a polite, "Oh, don't worry, I've got it."

"Soul! How are you doing, little brother?"

Soul gave him a quick wave 'hello' and walked over to the stereo to take the CD out.

"So what are you doing here so early?"

"What are you talking about? I told Soul I was getting here at 2:00."

Maka's snapped her head around to look at Soul, her eyes shooting fire. "Soul, you said 5:00." She spat out the sentence, each word dripping with anger.

"Whoops, I must've heard wrong." Soul's voice was completely void of any remorse.

"SOOUUULLL!" Maka growled, her face burning red with anger as she marched over to the white haired boy still smoothing out the DVDs.

Maka grabbed a book off the coffee table and just as it was about to make a connection with Soul's skull, he caught her arm and leaned forward and placed a peck on her cheek.

"Cool it. I lied to you knowing that, if I _did_ tell you what time he was coming, you'd spend time so much time rushing to get ready and you would've dressed up nicer. This way Wes gets to meet the real you."

"And, might I say, you look ravishing, Maka!" Wes's voice chimed in.

Maka turned around to face him, dropping the book on Soul's head, hoping it caused at least a little bit of damage.

"What? No, I don't. I'm wearing sweatpants and some baggy old T-shirt that isn't even mine."

"Yes, but it's only the truly beautiful people who can look amazing no matter what attire they're wearing." Wes grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles.

Maka looked away, trying to hide the blush she felt creeping onto her cheeks.

Soul wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "Hey, she's mine, you can find your own beautiful girl."

Maka's cheeks grew warmer than ever with a blush, as she hid her face in Soul's shirt and he placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Don't worry, brother. I wouldn't steal her from you."

Maka pulled her head away from Soul, feeling her blush had passed. She looked up at Wes and he flashed a charming smile to her.

"Well, I'd show you around the place, but this is just about it. You'll sleep in my room, let me show you where that is." Soul pulled away from Maka and walked past Wes, waving a beckoning hand. Wes smiled at Maka again before turning around, picking up his bags, and following his brother.

Maka sat down on the couch as she listened in on Soul telling Wes what not to touch in his room.

"Hey, what are you doing with that?" Soul snapped.

"I didn't know you play guitar, Soul. Could you play a song for me?"

"No. I barely play it, and I'm not all that good at it, either." Maka could hear an edge to Soul's voice.

"Oh come now, I doubt that's true, you're an Evans after all, you should be-" Wes stopped mid sentence.

Maka jumped up from the couch to walk over to the two of them, feeling something in Soul's soul wavelength, it was hard to describe what exactly she felt, it was a mixture of a lot of things, all she knew for sure was it meant he would need her over there.

She walked into the bedroom to see Soul turned away form Wes, his jaw was tensed, and he was clenching his hand into tight fist, his face showing a degree of anger she couldn't remember seeing him ever express.

"Soul?" She spoke up, breaking the tension filled silence. "Soul, calm down." She stepped in front of him, taking a quick glance back at the regret filled face of his brother.

"You know, I need to use your restroom. I'll just step out." Wes whispered, his excuse obviously fake, and he walked out, closing the door behind him.

"Soul, calm down. Look at me." Maka grabbed his hand and he softened his gaze slightly, turning his head to look into her green eyes.

She pulled his arm and led him to sit down on the bed. They both lowered and Soul started taking deep breaths as Maka grasped his upper arm, her other hand rubbing his back to soothe him.

"Soul, what's up? What's wrong?"

"I'm fine. I'll be fine. Just give me a minute to myself. Okay?"

"Okay," Maka stood up from the bed and walked over to the door. She looked back at Soul, hunched over with his arms resting on his knees, his fingers entwining themselves and twisting around with nervous energy.

She turned around and walked out. Wes was sitting on the couch, his face still showing a trace of the regret he felt from saying what he did.

Maka sighed loudly, and turned to Wes putting on a big smile, not sure how sincere it was. "Can I get you a drink? We've got tea, juice, coffee, would you like anything?"

"Oh, I couldn't make you do that."

"No, it's fine. You're the guest here, stop being too polite and let me be hospitable. Sheesh!" She threw her arms up in melodramatic exasperation. She turned to him with a big smile and a sweet voice "Now, would you like something to drink?"

"Tea is fine."

"What kind, silly? I expect you know there are many different kinds of tea." Maka walked over to the cupboard where they kept their collection of tea that mostly only she drank.

"Surprise me." Wes called out.

"I try to be hospitable, and he's too polite." Maka mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes. She pulled out the green tetsubin, a Japanese cast iron teapot that Tsubaki had given her for Christmas and set it out on the counter. "How does green tea sound?" she shouted into the other room as she placed a normal pot filled with water on the stove, turning the burner on.

"Sounds wonderful!"

Maka walked over to the main room to see Wes looking at the book of knitting patterns that Maka had left out on the coffee table. "It'll take a bit for the water to boil, and then I'll have to boil some more water after that. I'm using this Japanese cast iron teapot my friend gave me, and it's a long process making tea in it, so, bear with me."

"That's perfectly fine. I don't mind." Wes reassured her.

After a considerable pause in conversation, Maka asked "So, do you knit?" she pointed to the book in his hands for clarification when he looked up at her.

"I learned once, _years_ back. I made a scarf and an afghan, but then I lost interest in it."

"Oh, well it's not for everyone." Maka felt an awkward tension fill the air. It was so strange, someone who looked so much like Soul but was so unlike him. She could normally make conversation with anyone, but with him, no words or topics were coming.

A moment passed in dreaded silence before Maka could no longer take it. "I'll go see if the water's boiling." She walked over to the kitchen, escaping the horrid discomfort of the lack of conversation.

_Soul, I'm going to kill you if you don't get out here soon._ Maka poured half of the boiling water into the teapot, rinsing it out and warming it up which was the protocol for using a Japanese tetsubin. She repeated the process with the remaining water from the pot on the stove, and then filled the teapot with approximately enough water for two servings of tea.

She heard a door open followed by Soul's voice asking, "Where's Maka?"

"I'm in here Soul, why?" Maka let a hint of concern appear in her voice. Why? she didn't know. She had no reason to be concerned. Did she?

"What? No reason. I was just wondering." Maka felt overwhelming nervousness in his soul wavelength.

_This is going to be a long week…_

That afternoon went by slowly with awkward conversation. Wes insisted on making dinner that evening and since it was Soul's turn, he was all for that, and let him have the kitchen all to himself.

Maka was in her room finding a book to read while she waited for dinner. She heard the murmur of the two voices on the other side of the partially closed door. The two of them sounded very similar, except that Soul's voice was more gruff and Wes's was clearer, so without paying too much attention, it was easy to mix up the two. Soul was in the kitchen helping Wes with dinner, upon Maka's demand, and she was exhausted and wanted some time to herself, relaxing with a good book.

"Maka looks so familiar, I can't put my finger on it." Maka's ears perked at her name coming from Wes's voice, she was fairly certain.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Soul sounded about as bored as could be.

"She looks like someone. Help me out here, Soul. Does she remind me of an old family friend, maybe?"

"Like hell she does!" Maka could hear Soul throw a dish down on to the counter. "No fucking way she'd remind you of some snobby rich friend of… No. She doesn't." Soul was angry.

"I meant nothing by it, it's just that I could swear I've seen her before and I'm trying to figure it out. Calm down."

"You know what, Wes? I'm damn sick and tired of being told to 'calm down' every two fucking minutes. I'm not calm, I don't _want_ to be calm, and I'm not _going_ to be calm." Maka heard the front door open. "I'm going for a walk."

Maka jumped off her bed and ran out her bedroom just in time to see the front door close. She grabbed her coat from a hook on the wall and Soul's jacket from the back of the couch. She waved off Wes's incessant apologies saying how he didn't expect him to blow up like that.

"Don't worry about it, Wes. When's dinner gonna be ready?" She asked, as she was pulling her arms into her coat.

"About an hour, maybe?"

"Well, we'll be back by then. If you need something to do, there are books everywhere, and plenty of things to occupy your time. Just don't touch the movies, and the bookcase right next to my bed is off-limits. See ya!" Maka rushed out the door and quickly moved on to try and catch up to Soul.

She walked through the cold crisp November air, down the street dimly lit by street lamps to find Soul sitting on a bench about two blocks from their apartment.

"Hey," she spoke up just soft enough for him to hear. He looked up at her, his red eyes still burning with anger. "It's cold out, you really should have something warmer on."

"Like that jacket of mine you're holding behind your back?"

Maka smiled softly and tossed him the jacket before taking a seat next to him, grabbing his hands in hers.

They sat there in silence for a few moments. It was nothing like the silence they had experienced so many times that afternoon. This was comfortable and normal, and it spoke hundreds of languages, without anyone saying a single word.

"Soul, are you okay?" Maka spoke up after a few moments, her words barely audible

"I don't know. I'm fine, don't worry."

"If you don't want me to worry, then you've got to to stop doing things that make me worry."

Soul let out a small laugh through his nose, letting the slight smile remain on his face.

"Sorry about that. So I guess you're gonna make me head back to the apartment, now?"

"Actually," Maka looked down at the watch she wore on her wrist. "We've still got about 45 minutes 'til dinner. We could stay out here and hang out, we could go for a short walk."

Soul's smile grew bigger and he leaned in, giving her a warm kiss, which, although chaste, felt good and made Maka want more. Soul stood up and took her hand as she followed suit and they made their way farther down the street.


	5. Chapter 5 - A Soft Melody

"Soul! I figured it out!" Wes called out from his/Soul's bedroom.

Soul and Maka were sitting on the couch, mocking some cheesy romance movie that just so happened to take place around Christmas, thus making it a "Christmas movie" by Hallmark channel's standards.

Wes came into the main room with a thick photo album. Soul clicked the television off as Wes sat next to him, plopping the photo album in his lap.

"What the hell, Wes? What is this?"

"It's an old photo album, obviously. I couldn't come without bringing at least one." Wes explained. "But if you'll look at this picture here," He opened it up to a page in the near middle where there were a few pictures of a much younger-maybe about three years old-Soul, wearing a nice suit, and he was playing with this little girl around the same age with light blonde hair pulled up in pigtails. "You'll see what I've been talking about these past few days."

Maka leaned her arm on Soul's shoulder and she leaned in to look at the picture. She laughed, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that looked like me."

"Exactly!" Wes exclaimed.

"Wes, what are you going on about?" Soul seemed irritated, by _what_, Maka couldn't quite figure out.

"It _is_ Maka."

The two of them stared at him in disbelief, demanding an explanation.

"Well, you see, it was years ago, you were about three years old, almost four, and our family had gone to this big social event in DC. There was this spunky little girl who had come up to you with this great big smile and tried to talk to you. Now, you were always very shy, so you just clung to Mother's legs, and hid behind her skirt. But that little girl sure was persistent. She kept poking you, trying to get you to talk to her. Eventually you finally looked at her and detached yourself from Mother, and she made me watch the two of you as you played.

"You two chased each other around the whole night. It was very surprising, actually, seeing as how you were never that energetic, and you never really got along with other kids. I managed to get one of the photographers hired for the event to snap a few pictures of the two of you, and he promised to get me a copy of them.

"At the end of the night the two of you were so worn out, just sitting in a corner, while that little girl just chattered away, despite the fact that she was practically falling asleep. Then we had to leave and she gave you a big hug goodbye saying she would play with you again sometime soon. For the next month you talked of nothing but that little girl, your new best friend, and how you were going to one day marry her." Wes reached down and flipped to the next page that had a picture of the two kids facing the camera, each with an arm around each other's shoulders, and their smiles big and wide. Underneath the picture were the words "Soul and Maka. Best Friends"

"Aaawwwwwww!" Maka squealed.

"Of course, Maka, no one got your last name, our parents didn't get to talk to your parents to exchange the information needed to contact you. So, even though Soul had been dead set on marrying you then, the memory eventually faded." Soul was still looking down, hiding his face and Wes nudged him with his elbow, "So brother, you still want to marry your 'bestest friend in the whole wide world'?"

Maka let out a small giggle, her cheeks going slight pink. "Is that what he called me?"

Wes just nodded.

Soul stood up, dropping the album on the coffee table "Alright, no more photo albums, okay?" Soul walked out into his room, muttering something about "stupid embarrassing childhood stories". As he turned to step through the door, Maka was able to catch just a glimpse of his face that was completely taken over by a bright shade of red, much like the colour of his eyes.

Wes and Maka looked at each other and just laughed.

Maka stood up, still giggling a bit, and went over to knock on the door that Soul had slammed shut. "Soul?" she was still laughing and it rang through with her words. "Soul, come on, we're teasing." She opened the door as Soul was slamming the drawer of his nightstand shut.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing in here?" He whipped his head to look at her.

"Easy, Soul, come on," she stifled another laugh. "You know, the pictures were really cute!"

Soul just rolled his eyes and turned his face to hide the inevitable blush.

"Soo, bestest friend, Soul."

At that Soul ran up to her "Why you!" he wrapped his arms around her waist, scooping her up and spinning her around. He carried her over and dropped her on the bed, and she curled up into her uncontrollable giggles. Soul leaned down and placed a kiss on her cheek.

She looked up at him; her giggling stopped, but her smile hadn't faded a bit. She took a deep breath and looked into his crimson eyes. He was leaning over top of her, his hands resting on either side of her.

She reached her arms up and wrapped them around his neck, pulling herself up so their lips could meet. When she pulled away from the kiss, but still keeping hold of his neck, he moved to a sitting position on the bed, bringing her up with the movement.

She placed a hand on his cheek and brought his face up to hers to place another swift kiss on his lips. "You're a dork." She smiled at him.

"I'm not the one who was a ball of giggles not two minutes ago," he countered.

She let out another giggle and gave him a playful shove.

There was a light knock on the door as Wes opened it.

"Yeah?" Maka's smile was big and ringing through in her voice.

"I'm not interrupting anything?" He spoke his concern, sounding polite as ever.

"No, you're fine. What is it?" Maka laughed it off, standing up from the bed and Soul followed suit.

"Dinner. Do we have everything we need for dinner tomorrow?"

"Oh, shoot!" Maka's mind suddenly filled with lists and lists of groceries and ingredients they'd need. "Let's go take stock." she reached behind her feeling Soul's hand wrap around her own, and they walked out into the kitchen.

They went through recipes for pie, casseroles, and homemade cranberry sauce. Soul rolled his eyes.

"Maka, why would we make our own cranberry sauce? We always just buy it in a can." he complained.

"Come on, Soul, it'll be fun! Now, let's go grocery shopping!"

"No, no, Maka." Wes reached out, blocking her path to the hook where her coat was hung. "Soul and I will get the groceries, you stay here."

"What?" Soul snapped.

"No, I like shopping, it's no problem."

"No, I insist, you stay here. Watch a movie, read a book, work on that scarf you're knitting."

"Ha! It's a scarf!" Soul shouted.

"Dang it, Wes. I was making Soul figure it out."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well, to make it up to you, _I_ will do the shopping with Soul, and _you_, dear Maka, can stay here and relax. Enjoy yourself." He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around to face the couch and gave her a gentle push. "We will be back in an hour or so."

"What, but it shouldn't take-" Maka was cut off by the thud of the door shutting. She jumped over to the door, opening it and calling out to them, "Pick up some dinner on the way home!"

The only reply she got was a thumbs up from Soul who didn't even look back at her, and she went back into the apartment to find a book to occupy her time.

"Mmmmmm! That was delicious!" Maka hummed after her last bite of curry.

"I was actually surprised, Maka," Wes set his fork down in his rice. "when Soul told me that you loved curry. I almost accused him of lying."

"You did, actually, accuse me of it." Soul spoke so nonchalantly.

"Right, sorry. It's just that Maka doesn't at all seem like the kind of person who would like such spicy foods."

"Maka doesn't seem like a lot of things." Soul had a hint of affection in his tone. "Teaches you not to judge a book by its cover." he smiled softly at Maka causing her cheeks to warm up with a slight blush.

"Well said, brother." Wes said after swallowing a bite of white rice.

"Well," Maka yawned. "I am going to head to bed. Thank you again for getting dinner and doing all the grocery shopping, Wes!"

"You're very welcome!"

"Hey, I helped too." Soul spoke up, mock offended at her forgetting to mention him.

"Thanks to you too, Soul." Maka smiled back at him and walked into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

She changed into some pajama pants and one of Soul's band T-shirts that, again, made its way into her load of laundry, and she grabbed a book to nestle under the covers with.

After reading a good ten chapters and reaching a good stopping point, she set her book down on her bedside and turned the lamp off so she could get to a better sleeping position.

About half an hour or so passed but Maka wasn't tired at all. She had tossed and turned, tossed covers off of her, pulled more blankets on top of her, hugged the stuffed teddy bear she slept with tighter, but nothing worked. She just wasn't tired. She was about to get out of bed and walk out when her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her name.

"-Maka want to?" The very end of Wes's question completely confusing without the first part.

Desperate for some context, she kept listening. Normally she wouldn't eavesdrop, but something about the feel of the conversation made her head burn for more information.

"Because she wouldn't. It's not in her."

"Why do you say that?"

"Let's just say, she hasn't seen much that would encourage her and push her in that direction."

"What on earth do you mean?"

"Can we drop the subject?"

_No, don't drop the subject. What __**is**_ _the subject?_ Maka desperately wanted to walk out and ask what they were talking about. Saying she overheard them and ask for some context, but she knew they wouldn't say anything. Soul's last words on the matter were more than just dismissive. When he said it, he sounded almost… dejected? No, that couldn't be it. It had to be something else.

"I'm sorry, Soul. I won't pry." Wes's voice was soft. So soft that Maka had to strain her ears to hear.

"You're fine, it's just… you're fine...sorry." Soul sounded flustered. Stressed? Maybe…

There came a lull in the conversation.

"So, Soul... now please, don't blow up and don't get too hasty," Maka could see where this was headed by the tone Wes used. "Have you actually thought about our parents at all?"

This was a considerable pause. Soul finally spoke up, the edge in his voice, though very faint, was still there. "I have thought about them, and I've decided that I honestly do _not_ care. And I'd like to not talk on that subject." His last words were harsh and demanding.

"Right, I understand." Wes's words were soft and submissive, contrasting Soul's.

There was a pause in conversation, a short silence followed by Wes saying he was going to head to bed.

Maka heard the soft footsteps leading to room next to hers and heard the door close.

Maka was left to her thoughts. Lying in bed letting her mind try and decipher the clues she had, she still couldn't figure it out. What were Soul and Wes talking about? What made Soul so… What was Soul? Maka couldn't think of a word to describe it. She couldn't place it. What was going on?

Maka mulled all the thoughts over in her head, playing the conversation she overheard over and over again in her mind. She had already been restless, and this new thing to ponder didn't help at all. She got up out of her bed and paced the floors, seeing if it would help her thoughts straighten out somehow.

Pacing for a good half hour, her footfalls getting louder as they became progressively faster, she realised she should probably stop. She sat at her desk, and picked up the postcard she had received that day in the mail from her mother.

She pulled a very small booklight out from her desk drawer and read it again.

She read it in full then let her eyes skim over it again. Her eyes lingered on the last words;

"Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Maka, and know that I love you and am thankful for you."

Maka set the postcard back down on the desk and walked over to sit down on her bed, hugging her teddy bear close to her.

She sat for about five minutes before growing restless again. She stood up and walked over to her door, she twisted the doorknob slowly so it wouldn't make a sound and she stepped out of her bedroom.

She heard blankets rustling, suddenly remembering Soul was sleeping on the couch. She walked as quietly as she could over to look at him. The room was black with the lack of lights on. She could just barely make out the silhouette of her partner as it stirred on the couch and sat up.

Maka froze, afraid she had woken him.

"Maka?" Soul's gruff voice came out soft and quiet, not showing any signs of tiredness.

"Hey, Soul, did I wake you?" Maka's voice came out just above a whisper.

"Nah, I was already awake. What's the matter? Is something wrong?" Soul spoke with concern and affection. Something so subtle that only Maka could ever notice.

"I just can't sleep. I'm fine."

"Come here," She could just barely make out his silhouette move his arm up to welcome her over.

She walked around to him and nestled in right next to him on the couch and he stretched his arm around her to pull her in tight.

She rested her head on his bare chest, listening to his heartbeat. They sat in a comfortable silence. Not the kind of silence that spoke words. Just silence. Plain and simple. It was nice.

Maka brought her hand up to touch his scar. She traced it from his shoulder down to his chest and then just let her hand linger, lying flat on his warm skin.

"Hey Maka," He spoke so softly it was barely audible.

"Hm?" She didn't want to move. She didn't want to lift her head to look at his face, she just wanted to sit the way they were forever.

After a moment of hesitation from Soul, Maka brought her head up and tried to get a look at his face. "What is it?"

He took a deep breath. "Wanna dance with me?"

"Soul, it's late."

"I'll put music on very quietly."

Maka sighed deeply, smiling at his insistence. "Alright." Maka sat up so Soul could go and put the CD into the stereo.

After placing the disc in, he turned around to extend his hand to Maka. She took it and stood up, dropping her teddy bear on the couch.

Soul pressed play and grabbed Maka's hand, pulling her in to dance to the song he chose. He wrapped his arm around her waist and she hung her arms over his shoulder so there was no space between the two of them.

The soft bells began to chime. Maka recognized the song immediately as We Three Kings by Mannheim Steamroller. They started swaying to the music; it was slow enough to just do that, at the start. It was nice and calm, not involving anything fancy. It started to get a bit faster though, and they started dancing in circles. Spinning and swaying in tune with the music. It was pure bliss as the sound of instruments filled the air.

This was Maka's favourite song. The one she had loved ever since she first heard it when Soul played it their first Christmas together as weapon and meister. She had deemed it her favourite, and sometimes would catch herself dancing around the kitchen to it when it played and Soul wasn't around. She would always spin around, waving her arms around her in smooth movements pretending to be a ballerina. It was her form of daydream. She would just let the music fill her soul and she would let it move through her.

She didn't understand music like Soul did, but she knew how it could fill the air, and fill your soul. She knew how it made you feel. How it could make you cry, make you smile, make you emotional, like the instruments were reaching out and speaking to you. Making you feel what they felt.

It got to the last verse of the song, and the music softened and quieted as the song began to come to an end. Maka rested her head on Soul's shoulder, heaving a deep sigh of contentment as the song came to a close.

The next song came on. Surprise overtook Maka when she heard the piano intro of Silent Night instead of Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella. She picked her head up to face Soul, although she couldn't see him in the dark of the room. "That's not the song that comes next."

"I programmed it to play just these two songs." She could hear the soft smile in his voice.

She lowered her head back down, resting in the crook of his neck, and they swayed to the piano and soft voices vocalising the melody of the song.

They swayed slowly, the music overtaking all thoughts. Maka's mind was empty of all stress of any kind, and only held the tune. She focused on the warmth coming from Soul, the sensation calming and peaceful. A feeling of happiness and joy. A feeling she never wanted to let go of. A feeling she wanted to hold onto forever, and always have with her. A feeling she only got when she was with Soul.

Soul kissed Maka on the forehead, "I love you, Maka." He said softly, barely audible.

The words he spoke fell upon Maka's ears, sounding more melodic than the violins that had just come into the song. Never had she heard him say those words to her with that tone or that feeling. The emotion behind it felt so peaceful, so warm, so sincere.

They hung in the air like a fragrance reminding her of home. A fragrance so sweet and warm, it filled her with such an indescribable feeling. She couldn't place it, all she knew was she wanted it to stay with her forever, and never leave.

The words rang with music. Such a beautiful melody, a melody Maka wanted to play over and over again. It rang through the air, filling it with its power and joy.

She smiled, and felt a tear fall down her cheek as the instruments coming from the stereo played on. Instruments that reminded her of an ocean came from the speakers and she opened her mouth to add the harmony to his melody. "I love you, too." she said the words just as the Silent Night ended.

The song was over, and they had stopped swaying but they stayed in the same position. Not moving anymore, just standing still in complete silence.

An eternity passed, and Maka picked her head up and looked at where his eyes would be. Although she couldn't see them, she knew they were looking back at her.

"I love you, Soul." her words were barely audible, quiet yet ringing with such sincerity.

Soul leaned down, his soft lips meeting hers. She felt it again. The peace and warmth she felt when she heard him say the words to her. She felt music play in her soul. A soft melody more beautiful than anything she would ever hear, more warm than she would ever feel, it made her feel at home, like she never wanted it to end. She wanted the song to play on forever, a neverending tune to stay with her till her last day on earth.

Soul pulled away from the kiss and the song inside of her grew softer. She still felt the melody at her core, but it was dim, and just barely there.

They stood still, unmoving, their eyes locked in each other's gaze.

Another eternity passed, and Soul spoke with words so soft they weren't much louder than the silence already engulfing them. "It's late."

"I don't want to move" Maka spoke with the same softness as he did, resting her head back on his shoulder.

"I'll carry you."

"Okay,"

Soul detached his hand from Maka's grasp to bring it behind her knees and pick her up. He walked softly into her room and placed her gently on her bed.

"Stay here." she whispered as he brought his arm out from underneath her and brought the quilt up to cover her.

She scooted over to make room for him and he slid under the covers next to her.

They both lay there, facing each other. Soul leaned forward and kissed Maka on the forehead, whispering "Good night."

She closed her eyes, falling into a peaceful slumber.


End file.
